The Greatest Day Ever

I feel awful that I have not blogged sooner, but life hasn't really slowed down for us since the race. We have finally hit a "slow" spot for the time being so I thought this was the perfect time to share all that went on and what is to come for the Ward family!

Grateful doesn't seem like a strong enough word for what Kenny and I have been feeling lately! Our race with the Druava's and Pound the Pavement for Parenthood honestly could not have gone any better. Just a little recap of the weekend...

Thursday:

Kenny and I headed up to St. George  with my brother Mike (who traveled all the way from St. Louis, Missouri) to meet up with Kenny's brother Blake, sister-in-law Jodi, and their cute twins (who drove down from Layton, Utah) in Zion's National Park. We spent the day exploring the park and just catching up. It was such a fun day and we had a lot of good laughs (especially when Mike had a bird poop on his head... sorry Mike :-/ ) It was great to spend time with some of our family before everything got really crazy! After Zion's we drove back into St. George to meet up with the rest of my family that had driven all the way from Colorado and Utah. My Dad was amazing and rented a condo from one of my sister Kristi's friends for all 20 of us to fit in. It was so much fun to have so much of our family there! We had a great night eating pizza, playing at the park with the littler nieces and nephews, and even got meet up with one of my brother Scott's good friends and his family from high school.

Friday:

On Friday morning Kenny and I  got to spend a little bit hanging out with the family watching my nieces and nephews drive the awesome tandem bike all around. Then at about 10 am it was time to get busy. We ran to a couple businesses to pick up raffle and grab bag items they had donated and then headed to the park to meet up with Jill and Shellee who had just pulled in from Salt Lake. We chatted about some details and made a game plan for the day. Then we headed to Christine's office where they were so wonderful to let us stuff our grab bags. Luckily we had lots of help from my family and Christine's friends so were able to get things done pretty quickly.

After stuffing the grab bags we headed to lunch where we had a lot of good laughs and tried to make some new friends with strangers. The rest of the night was spent putting up signs and marking off the course for the next morning. After we were done marking off the trail around 11pm, so we ran over to meet up with Trevor and Kasey (who drove from Idaho) to say hello. We had SO much family come into town to support us. It was amazing! It was a late night, but so much fun hanging with everyone!

Saturday: (AKA Best.Day.Ever.)

I honestly didn't sleep much on Friday night. I was so anticipating a day we had been working SO hard for. I honestly couldn't believe it was here. Kenny and I were up at 4:30 and out the door by 5:30 to meet up with the rest of the gang and get set up. Our AMAZING family all got up around the same time and met us there at 6am to set up. (Have I mentioned how much my family rocks! They showed up early and helped so much!)  As check-in started I couldn't believe the amount of people that started pulling in. So many friends, family members, and strangers that had come to support us, the Druava's, and Pound the Pavement. It was almost hard to take in all that was happening. To be honest the biggest thing I can remember from all of it was the overwhelming amount of love I felt. Love for the people who took time out of their busy lives to support us, love for the strangers that were there to support PPP and others struggling with infertility.

 

The Fairchild Clan (Everyone got all decked out in "Baby Ward" gear)

 

My Cute Mama Supporting Baby Ward

 

 

 

The Budge Family!

Thank you SO much for supporting us!

 

 

The Whole Ward/Budge Crew

 

 

Jodi, Blake and the Girls!

 

Everyone Checking In!

 

 

Such an Incredible Turn Out

 

 

Our Doctor, the Incredible Dr. Foulk

 



 

The Druava Family, Shellee, Jill, and Us

 

We've made lifelong friends through this experience and I will forever be grateful to Jill, Shellee, and the entire Pound the Pavement family for all they have done to help Kenny and I get to this point. They were an answer to MANY prayers. I am so grateful that we got to organize this race with Christine, Joape, and Maraia... They have become incredible friends! The last year has been amazing and I can't wait for the year to come! To our wonderful family, thank you will never seem like enough. We had SO many people that came to support us. And even though we barely had any time to be with all of you, we hope you know how much we appreciated you being there and how loved you are by us! And to those that couldn't be there... thank you SO much for the support from far away. We felt so much love from you that meant to the world to us!

 

Here's to the future with Baby Ward!

 



Great Men

I am so lucky with the amount of GREAT men I have in my life. I want to focus on 3 of those great men for Father’s Day. But have to say...

I was blessed to be the youngest of 5 amazing older brothers and 1 amazing older sister who married the greatest brother-in-law on the planet. I have always loved having 5 big brothers to watch out for me. They have always made me feel protected and loved. I love those brothers of mine more than anything in the world and would do anything for them. I am so grateful for them always watching out for me and loving me unconditionally... even when I was kind of a brat and didn’t deserve it, haha. They are amazing husbands, fathers, and brothers. They are all with incredible women and one of the greatest things ever is seeing them become Daddy’s themselves. They rock at it and my nieces and nephews are the luckiest kids around to have the Dad’s they do.

 

Christmas 2004 (Missing Bry)

Love these People

I also got super lucky to get 5 awesome brother-in-laws. I feel like I do with my own brothers with them. They are great hubbies to their wives and the greatest Dad’s around. They have all made me feel part of the family since day 1. I feel so comfortable around all of them and ALWAYS count on them for a good laugh. I’ve probably said this a million times, but I feel like the luckiest girl to be part of the Ward family!

My Father-In-Law

I can’t even tell you how incredibly grateful I am that I got the father-in-law that I did. From the very first day I met Ken I knew him and I were going to be close. He makes me laugh harder than anyone else can. I have always felt like I can be 100% myself when I’m with him. I love getting to go up to spend time with him and Kenny on the farm. It’s one of my favorite things about visits to Malad.  Some of my favorite conversations have been on the truck drives to one place or another on the farm. He is one of the hardest working men I have ever known. He works hard to provide for his family and take care of the people that he loves. Because of his example he has taught his boys to be some of the most honest and hardworking men I’ve ever met. He is a true friend to his boys and I love seeing the relationship that they all have with him. Kenny and I always turn to him for advice because we know we will get the most honest answer. He is a man that leads by example and I am so grateful for him. I can’t imagine not having him as my Pa-In-Law.

 

Our Wedding in 2010 

 

My Daddy (Yes, I’m 27 and still call my Dad “Daddy”... that will never change)

I don’t think you could find a better Dad out there. He is one of the most honest, loyal, hardworking men you will ever meet. My Dad has always been someone that I can go to for advice and know that I got the best advice I’ll find anywhere.  I was lucky to be the youngest and so I got a lot of one on one time with him and my Mom.  I can’t tell you how lucky I feel that I had that. My Dad has always loved my Mom unconditionally. He treats her with so much love and respect. He was the example to me of the type of man I wanted to find as a husband someday. When I was younger, my Dad and I would have Tuesday night “date” nights. We would make his famous egg sandwiches and watch “Home Improvement”. When I was little he would always read me Bearnstein Bears or tell one of his awesome made up “Fred and Gertrude” stories before bed while we shared a cup full of marshmallows. He once told me to stick the candy “Smarties” in my belly button to make them less sour (nice one Dad). He took me on bike rides and would fill my water bottle up with Welch’s grape soda (we didn’t tell Mom that). When we lived in Iowa we would go fishing down at the little ponds in our neighborhood. He was the one I went and saw Napoleon Dynamite with... his choice. He always made a sincere effort to spend one on one time with me. I have never questioned if my Dad loves me. He has always treated me with respect and taught by example. One of my Dad’s famous sayings is, “We don’t do it because we want to... we do it because it’s the right thing to do. “ I’m so grateful for that man. I honestly don’t know what I would do without him in my life. He means everything to me. I’m SO grateful to have him as MY Dad. I love you Daddy.

 

BYU Graduation 2008

 

 

Florence, Italy 2009 (I hadn't seen my parents in over a year since they were on a mission in Cambodia. Luckily my brother got married in Italy and they got permission to go. Me, Mark, Mike, and Bry got to cheat and see them. NOTHING is better then seeing your parents after that long away from them. I balled like a baby when I had to seperate from them again for another year.)

My Hubby

What do you say about the man that has changed your entire world for the better? Kenny is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I have the most loving, goofy, hardworking, and patient husband on the planet. He has helped me to learn to relax... to sit back and enjoy life and not take everything so seriously. I can always count on him to comfort me and make me laugh on my worst days. Kenny and I both have been through a lot together and it’s amazing to me how positive his attitude is... ALWAYS.  There is no better man for me. We have so much fun together... laughing at things that most people would probably never understand. I love that he still gives me butterflies in my stomach like the first day we met. I’m just so in love with this man. I feel so incredibly blessed that I get him for eternity. Nothing is better to me than watching Kenny with Kason. He is the BEST Dad. Kason is obsessed with his Daddy... and for good reason. He loves both me and Kason unconditionally and I can’t wait to have children of our own together. I hope we have a little girl someday too because he will be the cutest Daddy to a little Princess.  He is truly the best husband, Dad, friend, and man out there. I love you Kenny Ward. You are my entire everything!

 

 

SO in love.

Our Journey Has a New Perspective

The weekend before Kenny was supposed to go pick Kason up from Texas we made a trip to Idaho to celebrate my father-in-law's birthday with the family. While we were on our way up we made an appointment to meet with Dr. Russell Foulk at Utah Fertility Center. When we were chosen by Pound the Pavement for Parenthood to be one of the couples sponsored, we kept hearing amazing things about Dr. Foulk. Everyone that had gone through him had had such a great experience. Kenny and I were instantly eager to meet him and see if we could have the great experience that everyone else had had.

Meeting with infertility doctor's has not always been a  positive experience for Kenny and I. There have been times that we have left a Doctor's office feeling completely hopeless and confused. Infertility sucks. A lot. It's even harder when you go to a Doctor who is supposed to help you understand what is going on with your body and help you come up with a solution... only to leave feeling more lost and unsure of what to do. All we had been told by Doctor's was that we would need to do IVF in order to have children. No real in-depth explanation of the why... just that the test results said so.

When we got to Dr. Foulk's office I was super nervous. I have been through the drill of meeting with Doctor's for the last 2 years, so I shouldn't have been at all... but I was. The office at Utah Fertility Center is beautiful inside though and the staff really makes you feel so comfortable. Everyone was incredibly friendly.

 

Waiting to meet Dr. Foulk for the first time.

When Dr. Foulk came in to meet us I instantly felt at ease. I just knew we were in the right place for us to do IVF. Dr. Foulk sat down and had already reviewed our prior test results and knew exactly where we were at. He even had done some research on Myotonic Dystrophy before we came in so he could better explain to us why we had to do IVF to start a family. It was the first time that Kenny and I have had a doctor explain why exactly we needed to do IVF... not why most people need it, but why WE need it. He asked questions about us... not just about our infertility journey, but about US. He genuinely CARED about who we were. He explained the whole process of IVF in great detail and answered every single question we had. At no time did I ever feel like we were rushed so he could move on to the next patient. Dr. Foulk took his time with us. When we left it is the first time in 2 years that I have left an infertility office feeling HOPEFUL and POSITIVE about what was to come. We met with him again a week ago for a quick ultrasound and now are in the waiting period to start our first IVF cycle.

We are doing something called Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)  to ensure that Kenny's Mytonic Dystrophy is not passed on to any of our children. This process takes some time and costs a little more but is SO worth it to us. Kenny is really concerned about passing on MMD to our children. It is a progressive disease so has the potential be worse with each generation. We are in the works of  starting PGD so that we can hopefully do our first IVF cycle sometime soon after the 5K.

Right now is the first time in awhile that I have felt great about where we are going with this whole journey. Infertility has it's up's and downs. Some days you feel anger, some days you feel intense sadness, sometimes you try to stop caring and just let it be... rarely are there moments where you feel what both Kenny and I feel now...  Hopeful and excited for the future. I am so grateful to be where we are at in life right now. No matter what happens I know that we are here at this place because that's how Heavenly Father wants it. I know there's a good chance we will still have some down's on our journey, but I can honestly say that I think I can take it all in with a new perspective.

I have met some incredible people and had the opportunity to hear amazing stories that have given me the outlook that all of this happens for a reason... because it is what is best for us.  I am so excited to get moving on this part of the journey. There are SO many good things to come!

I love this man SO much! I wouldn't want to go
on this journey with anyone else.



Oh, and have I told you the BEST news about our race? Dr. Foulk has donated ONE FREE IVF CYCLE to be won at a raffle that will be held at the end of our race. Also, Reproductive Care Center has donated two chances for 50% off an IVF CYCLE for the raffle as well! SO if you or anyone you know is going through a similar struggle as us you can enter their name to help them win. They don't have to be there... just the individuals who are entering their name do. We are so excited that we are going to get to see someone else have a great opportunity like us through PPP. You can register for the race here: https://poundthepavementforparent.webconnex.com/PPPSU2013 If you can't actually be there for the race you can always just donate. Every little bit helps us get one step closer to starting our family!

Love at First Sight

Something that immediately attracted me so much to Kenny was his love for Kason and his desire to be the best Dad he could. When it was time for Kason to come to Vegas for his summer visit, Kenny and I were just starting to get more serious. The more serious we got, the more nervous I got about meeting Kas. He was only 22 months, but I KNEW that if Kas and I didn't click that would be the end of Kenny and I. Kenny was actually flying out of Utah to pick up Kas for the 4th of July so him and I drove up north together so I could spend the 4th with my sister and her family. I dropped him off at the airport and planned on picking him up the next day.



I went inside the airport so I could help Kenny with the bags. I will never forget that sweet little Kason in Kenny's arms. He was so little and happy. We sat and waited for the bags and I remember Kason just sitting there smiling at me. Kason has a smile that will melt your heart instantly. Him and Kenny took off right away for Malad so it was a brief, but great meeting. A few days later we all headed back to Vegas together. We left late so Kas could sleep while we drove. He was having a hard time sleeping so Kenny had me climb in the back seat with him. I'll never forget him holding on to my arm cuddling it. It was a first sweet moment with a little boy that has become part of my everything.

Isn't he the sweetest thing?

He has grown up so much since then!

 

Because I was working at a bank at the time I had Thursday's as my day off so I offered to take care of Kason so he didn't have to go to daycare. Thursday's became my favorite day of the week. I would come pick up Kas and he would come run errands with me, we'd have lunch together, and play with all of his toys at the house. He was my little buddy and we bonded. He couldn't say my name very well so Emily became Mimi... it's still what he calls me today and I love it. He tells everyone that I'm his Mimi because I'm a kind of a Mommy.

 

 

Waiting for Daddy to Come Home

 

Blowing Kisses

 

I am so grateful for this little guy in my life. I feel lucky to be part of his world. I can't believe how quickly he is growing up! He is such a little boy now and it amazes me how time flies. I can't wait to have a baby so that he can be a big brother. His Mom has a daughter and he is so sweet and cute with her. When we were in Texas last time he told us that, "When you have a baby from your tummy and it's a boy (he really wants us to have a boy, haha) I want to share a room with him. I want his bed like right next to me so I can hold his hand while he sleeps."  Aw, I love the kid so much!

 

Kas graduated from pre-school this last week and he seriously looked so handsome in his little cap and gown! He'll start Kindergarten in a few months and we are praying that we will be there in Texas for good by then so we don't have to miss any more big moments like this one! :) Love our Kas!

 

 

 

Timing

There's so many more stories I have to tell about Kenny and I... but one of the most important stories is how Kenny's family was always meant to be my family someday. It's a pretty crazy story actually...

Rewind to Fall of 2006...

I was sitting on a plane heading home from my brother David and new sister-in-law, Robyn's wedding reception. They had eloped a few months earlier so we all traveled to Denver to celebrate with them. On the way home I had full plans of getting caught up on the school work I had fallen behind on while I was gone. As I was reading my book the cute older man sitting next to me started to chat. He was SO funny and interesting and I had a great conversation with him. We ended up talking the entire 2 hour plane ride. He told me all about his family. His kids, grandkids, great grandkids, etc. As the stewardess announced that we were going to be landing this cute man asked me if I was dating anyone. At the time I really wasn't so he asked if could set me up with this grandson, Landon. I figured one date was harmless and so gave him my number. A few days later his Grandson Landon called and we went on a date. We hung out a few times after that, but figured out we were just good friends.

Now fast forward to Winter of 2009..

Kenny was hanging out at my house looking through my Facebook. As he scrolled through my friends list he stopped and asked, "How do you know Landon?". I told him I had been on a few dates with him, but hadn't seen him a few years... Shocked he says, "That's my cousin!" I then told him the story of how Landon and I even met... Then he says, "Did that cute man have the last name Budge? Cause if so that's my Grandpa!". We died laughing and couldn't believe the coincidence. A few months later I got to see Grandpa Budge again and he was in just as much shock as me that all these years later I ended up with one of his grandsons! He still to this day LOVES to tell the story and that he always knew I was supposed to be in this family somehow. He sure was right... just a little off on the timing. :) I couldn't be more grateful for the family I married into. I really feel like Heavenly Father blessed me! They truly are the most amazing and inspiring people you will ever meet.

 

Grandma and Grandpa Budge

 

When Kenny and I talk about our college days there are so many times him and I should have met but never did. Kenny used to study with my best friend on campus everyday. I would visit her frequently and she would have study groups at our house. He did all of his banking at the credit union I worked at all through college. We hung out at all the same places when we were both single... I can go on and on... The point is...

 

  It's all about timing people! There are so many opportunities that Kenny and I should have met  before we were with the people we married at one point. But we didn't. I could sit here and ask why... it would have saved so much heart ache for both of us if we had just met first. But then would we have even liked each other? Some of the qualities we most love about each other and that keep us strong as a couple were developed when we've gone through our hard times. And because of how it all happened I'm lucky enough to be a step Mama ("Mimi" or "Kinda Mommy" as Kas calls me) to Kason. Kason is so much of the reason that I want to have my own children... because I love him so much that I can't imagine not expanding that love to a bigger family! I feel so lucky that I get to have him in my life!

 

 

These two are my entire world.

 

 It's just another reminder to me that I am not on my own time table... I am on the Lord's time table. And thank goodness. He knows me better than I know myself.

 

As this opportunity with Pound the Pavement for Parenthood has come I am reminded of that yet again. For the last couple of years as we have been struggling with infertility I have kept asking "Why us? Why can't we have our family now?". But now I have my answer. Because I needed to meet the incredible people involved with PPP. Going through infertility has just been one more thing that has strengthened Kenny and I as a couple. Because I needed to open up to others about our struggles so they could open up about their own. So many doors have been opened. I am sure that as time goes on I will find even more reasons why this is how we get to start our family... but I know that all of it is happening because my Father in Heaven has a plan for me. It is the best way for me. I love him so much and am grateful that he provides the opportunities and trials he does so I can become a better person. 

Our First Date

Before I went on a date with Kenny I had a LONG conversation with my best friend Katey while sitting on the kitchen floor of our house. She really wanted me to make sure I took things slow with Kenny. For multiple reasons. 2 Main: 1. He was her co-worker so things would get awkward if we started dating then broke up. 2. While the boy from Idaho and I were on a little "break" to figure some things out, she didn't want me to push him aside completely yet... because honestly he was a great guy. I promised I wouldn't and so went on the date with little to no expectations of anything coming from it.

Kenny picked me up that night to head to the 51's game. He looked SO handsome and smelled AMAZING. His trick? Aqua Di Gio. It is heaven in a bottle ladies. Anyways... we had a great time at the baseball game. Katey and her boyfriend Paul came along which made it a little more comfortable. We had a blast!

 

 

After the game we headed to Margarita Ville with them for some Volcano Nachos. If you are ever in Vegas, it is a must while you're here. The plate of Nachos easily feeds 4 people... if not more. And they are DELICIOUS!

After dinner Kenny wanted to walk down to the Belagio fountains for a few shows. They are my favorite thing in Vegas and I thought it'd be nice to talk to him one on one, so we separated from Katey and Paul for the night. While we were standing at the fountains we carried on a GREAT conversation for over 2 hours.He listened, he joked, he could talk about deep things and didn't have to be all manly... he was/is awesome. We held hands while we talked and that was where my comfort level stood for the night. Then came the crossing of the comfort level...

Something you should know about Kenny when you meet him is he is absolutely not afraid to say what's on his mind (No matter how inappropriate it might be, haha). He is really great at making others feel at ease around him AND most importantly he has the best heart of anyone out there. He will tell you how he feels and you should know it is sincere. That was something that I didn't know about him yet though....  Before we started the walk back to the car he grabbed my other hand so he was facing me directly. He got REALLY close to my face... and started saying all these SUPER sweet things and how he felt like me and him had an amazing connection. For some reason I panicked. I thought he was sweet talking for a kiss. I liked him, but wasn't so sure about all these cute things he was saying. I did my best to casually change the topic and we started our walk back to the car. When I got home that night I wanted to make sure he knew I was interested in seeing him more because I thought I scared him off when I avoided his sweetness. Even though it came on a as a little much we had a great time! I text him to let him know how much fun I had and that we should do it again. He called me the next morning to set up date two.

When Kenny and I talk about that moment at the fountains now his response is usually the same. As he puts it, "I knew what I was doing. I always knew that I'd win you over. I mean look at me. You'd be crazy not to want me." Haha if you know Kenny that seems about right... if you don't... he's WAY confident... in the best kind of way. :) That night was the start of something that changed my world completely.

The Night We Met

When I moved to Vegas one of the first things I was introduced to was Stoney's Rocking Country. It is a line dancing bar here in town that all of the single Mormon kids would go to every Thurday night to dance and hang out. It was ALWAYS a blast. Stoney's is always packed with locals and the setting is really casual and fun. We would get there around 9pm and dance till 1am and then head to Buffalo Wild Wings for a late night snack... we did this every Thursday for like 4 or 5 months straight, haha. Some of my favorite memories from Vegas that year were there.

Katey, Dianna, and I were making our plans to meet up and get ready together when Katey mentioned she was inviting one of her co-workers. She had mentioned him before, but all I really knew about him is that he had just moved back to Vegas a month ago after a pretty awful divorce. I had just gone through something VERY similar so Katey thought him and I should meet... maybe we could "bond".  I have to admit. The last thing I wanted to do was to get hooked up with someone I could swap divorce stories with. I had moved on with my life and was happy. She really had the best intentions. I was just anti-discussion of divorce at the time, haha. I had been dating a boy from Idaho Falls off and on and so didn't really find interest in the whole idea.

We got to Stoney's and started dancing and hanging out with our friends. I remember sitting on some stairs with my friend D when I saw an EXTREMELY attractive guy approach Katey who was just a few feet away. I leaned over to Dianna to point him out when Katey started to walk towards us with him.  She introduced him, "This is Kenny, my coworker." Um WHAT?! She had failed to metion how attractive this guy was. All notions of not wanting to get to know this guy too well immediately went out the window. As we all walked out to show Kenny a line dance I leaned over to Dianna and said, "Seriously the greatest set of lips I've ever seen on a guy in my life." Haha. If you know Kenny  you'll know that his lips are one of his favorite things on himself. They are abnormally full, in a good way. He loves that it was the first thing I noticed about him. We hung out with our group of friends all night and I didn't really get to talk to Kenny much. At the end of the night he came and sat by me so we could chat for a few minutes, but got interrupted pretty quickly. It was getting late so we all decided to head out. Katey and I were in the car on the way home when she got a text from Kenny, "You're friend Emily... Wow. She is freakin' gorgeous!" (Which she never showed me until weeks later, haha)

                                                  
            Dianna and Brook hanging out at Stoney's

                   Our first Stoney's picture together.

Anyways, the next morning while I was at work I got  a text from Katey saying that Kenny had asked for my number. I was SO excited and anxiously waited for his call later that day. When he called we talked for over an hour. He was SUCH a smooth talker and by the end of our conversation we had a date set up. I haven't been so nervous for a date in a long time.

Good Things DO Come!

Kenny and I received some great news a few days ago that we are both excited to share. We would like you to keep in mind however, that this is a big deal for us to talk openly about it. We've both been hesitant to let anyone in on a few things going on in our life with anybody except for close family and friends. As time has gone on, we've discovered through our trial that we are definitely not alone in this. We feel like sharing could only create positive things to come. SO... a little background (okay a lot, sorry) before the NEWS.

Most people do not know that my hubby Kenny has a form of Muscular Dystrophy called Myotonic Dystrophy (MMD). In Kenny's case the disease didn't show itself really until he was about 25. In short, Myotonic Dystrophy is muscle wasting in the extremities. There are two types and thankfully Kenny has the less severe of the two. While some can have heart problems, lose their ability to walk, write, etc., Kenny has only lost his ability to grip anything with his hands. Looking at Kenny, you would have no idea that he even has any issues. We met with a specialist a few months ago and found out that every case is completely different so there is no way to tell what other things Kenny will experience in the future. As for now though, Kenny is healthy and strong, and as long as we have regular check-up's there's not much for us to worry about. However, another common problem we learned that comes from MMD is infertility. Kenny and I have struggled to get pregnant for the last 2 years. While Kenny does have a son, because he didn't have symptoms until he was in his early 20's and MMD is a progressive disease, infertility did not become an issue until after Kason was born. As a result we have found that because of MMD and other issues with me that our best option to have a baby together is through In-Vetro Fertilization (IVF). We also learned that because MMD is a genetic disease that there is a 50/50 chance it would be passed onto our children. IVF would ensure that it would not be passed on.

                                        
               Is he not the most handsome thing ever?!

If you know anything about IVF, it is ridiculously expensive. When we met with a fertility specialist here in Vegas we were quoted over $28,000. Obviously, we don't have that kind of money lying around and so have been putting the idea of kids on hold. It has been a really difficult two years for us. In ways that I can't really explain. We both want to have children together so badly. Kenny is such an amazing Dad to Kason and I KNOW that we have children waiting for us up there in Heaven. I am supposed to be a Mom. I’ve always felt that and wanted that so much. It just hasn't been on our time table I guess. Infertility is something that I would never wish on anyone. It is a struggle that no one can really understand unless you've been there. We have been so blessed with amazing family members though that have supported us through this hard time. We could not be more grateful for the support. And thank goodness we have each other...

 

           ...couldn't be more grateful that I have someone to help me laugh in between the tears.

About a month and a half ago I came across an organization on Facebook, Pound the Pavement for Parenthood. (PPP) They are an organization that is creating awareness and support for infertility. Infertility is something that people rarely talk about or share with others because of its sensitivity. At least that has been our case. PPP also sponsors couples that are having difficulties with infertility to assist them in relieving some of the financial burden that comes with both IVF and/or adoption. While looking around on their website I found that they were accepting applications for couples to sponsor in 2013 and so I applied. A few days later I got an email from, Jill who started the organization with her husband in 2010. Jill set up a phone interview with me and we talked for over 20 minutes about what Kenny and I had experienced over the last two years. It was such a relief to talk to someone who actually understood what Kenny and I were experiencing. To feel like the person on the other end of the conversation could actually relate the pain and frustrations we had experienced. For the last few weeks, we have been waiting anxiously to hear from PPP and on Thursday, we finally received the call.

Kenny and I have been selected to be 1 of 5 families that PPP will be sponsoring in 2013! On September 14, 2013 they will be holding a 5K race in St. George Utah with another couple to raise awareness and funds to go towards infertility treatments/adoption! I can't even explain to you what a blessing this is for Kenny and I! We both had kind of given up and this blessing has just proven to us that Heavenly Father hears prayers and answers them.

Over the next few months we will be posting more of our story and the plans for the race in September. We hope you'll join us on our journey this next year. This is something that we found no one ever wants to talk about... and we understand why...We've been there for the last two years. But I really hope that through us sharing our story we will be able to create support for others going through similar trials. I know what relief we felt when we relalized we were not alone in this. Our true desire is to create the same feeling for others as well!